Paper money of the Hungarian korona

The paper money of the Hungarian korona was part of the circulating currency in the post-WWI Kingdom of Hungary until the introduction of the pengő in 1927. The variety of the banknotes and treasury notes and the variety of issuing authorities reflect the chaotic postwar situation in the country.

Austro-Hungarian Bank notes (1919)

The "Oesterreichisch-ungarische Bank / Osztrák-magyar Bank" (Austro-Hungarian Bank), the joint bank of the Monarchy had the exclusive patent to print banknotes throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Banknotes were printed in Vienna, Hungary was supplied from there. During the First World War, the chief secretary of the Vienna headquarters intentionally suspended the delivery of banknotes to Hungary.

After the World War, the Hungarian Károlyi government requested the joint bank to deliver printing plates and banknote paper to Hungary, since it would have been too dangerous to deliver printed banknotes due to the political uncertainty. The banknotes (1, 2, 25 and 200 Krone / korona) printed in Budapest under the Károlyi government and then under the Soviet Republic were distinguished with a different serial number (1 K: higher than 7000; 2 K: higher than 7000; 25 K: higher than 3000; 200 K: higher than 2000). After the fall of the Soviet Republic, Vienna declared these banknotes to be counterfeits.

State notes (1920-1926)

State notes were first issued in 1921. The designer was Ferenc Helbing. The banknotes were first printed in Switzerland by [http://www.ofgb.ch/ Orell Füssli, Zürich] (except for the lower denominations ,which did not worth counterfeiting) then in Hungary by the newly founded Banknote Printing Co. ( [http://www.datanet.hu/banknote/angol.htm Magyar Pénzjegynyomda Rt.] ) in Budapest. The banknote size was increasing with the higher denominations, which prompted the press to resize the banknotes: from 1923, smaller versions were printed with the same (or slightly different) design.

"Main state note printing mark variations:"

*Low denomination bills (1 to 20 K, printed in 1920): no mark (printed in Budapest by different printers)

*Large size bills (50 to 25 000 K, printed in 1920 and 1922): ORELL FÜSSLI ZÜRICH

*Small size bills (100 to 1 000 000 K, printed in 1923 and 1923): ORELL FÜSSLI ZÜRICH or Magyar Pénzjegynyomda Rt. Budapest. or no mark (printed by the Magyar Pénzjegynyomda Rt. in Budapest)

*All large and small size bills (50 to 1 000 000 K): T. W. or W or T. WILLI to show the name of the inventor of the "photo guilloche" technique used to print the state notes

External links

* en icon [http://bankjegy.szabadsagharcos.org/ bankjegy.szabadsagharcos.org] (Hungarian banknote catalog)
* en icon [http://www.numismatics.hu/ www.numismatics.hu] (Roman and Hungarian related numismatic site)
* [http://papirpenz.hu/ papirpenz.hu] (pictures of Hungarian banknotes)
* en icon de icon fr icon [http://www.eremgyujtok.hu/index.php?info=2_egyesulet.html www.eremgyujtok.hu] (homepage of the Hungarian Coin Collectors' Society)
* [http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/countries/hungary.html aes.iupui.edu/rwise] (pictures of Hungarian banknotes at Ron Wise's World Paper Money Homepage)

Further reading

* en icon de icon cite book | author=Gyula Rádóczy, Géza Tasnádi | title=Magyar papírpénzek 1848-1992 (Hungarian paper money 1848-1992) | publisher=Danubius Kódex Kiadói Kft | year=1992 | id=ISBN 963-7434-11-9
* (summary in de icon en icon ru icon) cite book | author=Károly Leányfalusi, Ádám Nagy | title=A korona-fillér pénzrendszer - Magyarország fém- és papírpénzei 1892-1925 (The korona-fillér monetary system - coins and paper money of Hungary 1892-1925) | publisher=Magyar Éremgyűjtők Egyesülete, Budapest | year=2006 | id=ISBN 963-229-523-4